I'm anticipating the arrival of a Palm TX and wanted to get things pre-set up for it by using BackUpBuddy and Backup so I can save the full E2 "backup" on my PC and then re-load that into the TX so I'd have a seamlessly identical set-up. On advice from remaining Palm blogs to pre-install for the TX transplant, I installed (or maybe shouldn't have on the E2) files that I never loaded on the E2 before -- not saying they're at fault for my situation but are suspects, are FAT32-loader-final, T3-bigCards, VibrateTX, flashInstaller, Screen Border Frame RemoveTX, and Graffiti1999, and HardReset. I popped in a new 2gig card intended for the TX into the E2 just to see if anything happened and course nothing did so I replaced my E2's regular 1gig card. Later on I discoved that my E2's built-launcher won't show any files on Card1 (except QED which I last installed and deleted), even under the "ALL" menu setting, yet CardInfo, FileZ and DB Explorer (installed the handheld itself) do show the files and Documents and Media even display the card's pixs and docs. I tried a hard resetting the E2 and reinstalling from CardBackup with pre-TX loaded versions, but the built-in launcher still doesn't show the card's files. Hopefully the E2 chips weren't modified by the TX files to render this permanent. I'm thinking if there's a way to purge the E2 and reinstalling from CD might help, but I'd like sage advice first.

IIRC, to see files on the card, you need to specifically select that from the default launcher dropdown in the upper-right. Now, a 3rd party launcher, like Z-Launcher, doesn't have that limitation. hth, RA

My useful BH links -- BH FAQS/repair options/digitizer discussions"Friends are the Fambly we choose" ~Shared pain is diminished, shared joy is increasedinanimate objects are smarter than we give them credit for~our lives are too short to not help others~when you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it Dilbert 9/22/09~ making no decision is really making the choice to do nothing, about something~The organic spell-checker is nearly 100% accurate, but sometimes, it just doesn't care.

Also, the built-in launcher will only show the apps installed in the Palm/Launcher folder of the SD card. It will not show apps stored elsewhere, and it won't show files stored anywhere on the card. As Rick said, you can use a 3rd-party launcher, or the file manager you have (Filez).

I'm guessing that the cards are formatted in FAT32. The E2 does not support FAT32 natively, but you seem to have the driver installed (FAT32-loader-final). Just be sure to delete the file named "T3-bigCards", because that's intended only for the Tungsten T3, not for the TX or E2. Perhaps this file is wreaking havoc in the E2. After verifying the FAT32 driver is installed and the T3-bigCards file is deleted, do a soft reset on the E2. Now it should read the 2GB cards without problem. However, most of the time the FAT32 card is not read the first time it's inserted after a soft reset. On my TX I had to insert the card, then eject it, then insert it again, and only then it was read. This was a quirk known by the driver's developer, but he said there was no way around it.

Thanks all of your for your sage wisdom! Quite a learning curve! What I discovered was that on first install on the E2 -- to save room on the handset (I assume like with PCs the more free HD space you have the faster/better your PC runs) -- I used Palm Quick install to load things like Pool and Launcher 3 and Monopoly and such into the Card itself and not the Handset so it appeared to me on successive boot-ups that apps were indeed appearing on the card until some slip-up while using FileZ deleted those card apps. I have them back now so that I always have a screen of apps whether in the built-in launcher's ALL or Card/Eternal select. I also learned Silver and Launcher 3 don't like being launched from the Card yet iSpin does it. I'd like your takes on your personal ideal Palm launcher and especially text editor. Regrettably my long ago fave, WordSmith crashes on the TX -- yet not some much on the now backup E2. It'll be fun to see how I can use the TX's wifi mode to do more than just Hotsync my Thinkpad R60e. I can access FIO wifi on it but only in FIO's router's non-secure "Guest" mode, so I guess that limits my comfortable access points but it's no way a show stopper! It's nice getting back on the saddle after my Palm III died in the 90s, and now it really doesn't feel like I'm working with 10-year-old technology!

Thanks for your assist!

BTW I got the TX postage paid with all cables and CD for $24.00 Xcellent condition from PDA King on Amazon, and its battery -- which I had anticipated was long dead and would have to manually replace works like new! Ditto with the E2 though I already bought a new batt in case for that, so I guess I have a future spare!

Palm OS devices don't benefit as much as a PC from having free storage. Palm devices have a "heap memory" which is where the apps are run from. If you fill up your device's storage you'll just end with no more room, but that in itself won't affect the device's performance.

Regarding the launcher, IMO the ideal launcher is ZLauncher (mentioned by Rick above). This launcher includes many file manager tools and plays very nicely with the SD card. But, it's not really helpful to keep the launcher itself in the SD card, but in the internal storage. Imagine this: you install the launcher on the card, then eject the card and insert another- you no longer have the launcher available.

Since you're moving to a TX, storage will be less of a concern. My TX has several dozen apps, and all run from the storage. It still has over 20MB of free storage. I use the SD card only for stuff like movies, music, ebooks, but zero apps.

I wouldn't hope to get much WiFi connectivity with the TX. A TX can only connect to a router in A mode or in mixed A/B mode. It can't connect to a router in any of the more modern modes (G, N, mixed G/N, etc). If you plan to seriously use WiFi with your TX your best bet is to install a second router at home, configure it in A or A/B mode, and set it as a bridge or extender to your main router.